She did not want to show us her scarf, so she knitted in the shed and in the garden under the apple-tree.
Nancy gave this scarf to Mr. Mini on has birthday. "Thank you very much," said Mr. Jones. "I like your scarf very much. It is very beautiful. I'll put it on only on holidays."
XV. My Naughty Little Sister and Poor Charlie
In the days when I was a little' girl and my naughty little sister was a very little girl, she often helped Mrs. Jones to do her housework.
Mrs. Job, waked very much and had a very clean house. She we glad when my sister came to help her. Mrs. Jones swept the floor with a big broom, and she bought a little red broom for my sister, too.
"Sweep, sweep" said the big broom.
"Sweep, sweep" said my little sister's little broom.
Sometimes Mrs. Jones said, "Oh, my poor back!50"
And my little sister said, "Oh, my poor back!"
One day Mr. Jones bought a vacuum cleaner.
It swept the floor very well, but it made very much noise, and my little sister did not like it.
"I don't like your vacuum cleaner," she said.
"But it helps me to clean the house," said Mrs. Jones.
"I help you to clean your house. I don't like this noise," said my little sister, and she did not do to see Mrs. Jones.
She did not go to see Mrs. Jones for a week.
She did not go there for seven days.
One day Mrs. Jones came to see my sister and the said to her:
"Poor Charlie wants to eat very much."
"Who wants to eat?" asked my little sister.
"Charlie, the vacuum cleaner," said Mrs. Jones.
"Can he eat?" asked my little sister.
"Yes, he can. Do you want to see how he eats?"
"Yes, I do," said my little sister, and she ran to Mrs. Jones.
She saw the vacuum cleaner on the floor in the room. Mrs. Jones put bits of paper51 on the floor, and Charlie "ate" them all up. Then my little sister put bits of paper on the floor, too. They jumped into Charlie's "mouth". It was so funny.
Now my little sister was not afraid when the vacuum cleaner made much noise.
"Poor Charlie wants to eat," she said.
XVI. My Naughty Little Sister Has School Vacation
My little sister liked school, but she liked vacation more than52 school. On the first day of our vacation she said to Mother and Father:
"Please take me to different places every day of the vacation."
"Very well," said my father.
On Monday he took my sister to the Zoo. She saw all the animals there. She saw the big elephants and the funny monkeys, the brown bears and the white bears, the tigers and a big lion.
When my little sister came home from the Zoo, she talked only about the animals at the Zoo.
On Tuesday Mother, my sister and I went to the country. We went to a lake. It was very beautiful near the lake. There were many green trees and red and blue flowers there. We picked some flowers. Suddenly we saw a big white goose. My little sister was afraid of the goose. We came home very late. My little sister told our father about the country, about the lake and the flowers and the big white goose.
On Wednesday Mother took us to the sea. The day was fine. The sea was blue, and the sky was blue. We saw many little boats and two sail-boats. We picked up little stones in the water, and we played near the sea. When we were going home, my little sister slept in the train.
On Thursday Father took my little sister to the park. The park was a very good place to play in. Many children came to the park every day.
My sister played ball and had three rides on a roundabout53. There was a big lake in the park.
A boy came with a dog to the lake. The boy threw54 a stick into the water, and the dog swam to it, took it into its mouth and brought it back to the boy.
My sister and my father watched the boy and the dog.
On Friday my mother took us to the theatre.
When we came home, my sister went to Mrs. Cocoa Jones and told her all about the theatre. Nancy wanted to go to her friend the shoe-mender and to tell him about the theatre, too, but my mother said it was too late.
On Saturday we all went to the circus. We liked to see the clowns. They were so funny. We also liked the monkeys. The monkeys had their dinner. They sat at little tables. They ate with little spoons. They drank milk from a bottle. We also saw a big elephant and a baby elephant.
On Sunday my little sister said in the morning:
"I am ill today."
The doctor came with his bag and gave my sister some medicine. He also gave her a little bottle of medicine for her doll.
"I don't play with my doll," said my little sister. "I am a big girl now, and I go to school."
"But now you have your vacation," said the doctor.
"Yes, I have my vacation. But on Monday I went to the Zoo, on Tuesday I went to the country, on Wednesday we went to the sea, on Thursday my father and I went to the park, on Friday I went to the theatre and on Saturday we all were in the circus. I wanted to go to different places every day."
"This is very bad," said the doctor. "You must stay at home now and play with your doll. You must get up early and play with your doll in the garden. You must give her breakfast and dinner in time and you must put your doll to bed early.
You must go to bed early, too."
So my sister did not go to different places every day. She stayed at home and played with her doll in the garden. But when her vacation was over and it was time55 to go to school, my mother put her doll into the box again.
"Don't put my doll into the box. I shall not take it to school, I am a big girl now," said Nancy.
I shall not tell you any stories about my naughty little sister. Now Nancy is a big girl, and she is not naughty.
END